Tuesday, September 27, 2011

When Corporations Rule the World...

"It has become clear that 2 members of the government’s examination committee in charge with the disputes regarding the compensation for the damage caused by the nuclear (accident), received “reward” from the “Japan Energy Law Institute (Tokyo)”, which is connected to the electric power company (Tokyo Electric Power Co.)"http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20110924-OYT1T00172.htm

There will be no justice until the Japanese government takes control of this terrible and ongoing disaster from Tepco.

Furthermore Blogger Ex-SKF reported that the evacuation zone is going to be lifted in large areashttp://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/09/radiation-in-japan-evacuation-ready.html"The Japanese government says it will abolish the "evacuation-ready" zone in 5 municipalities that lie between 20 to 30-kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on September 30, all at once..."

My bet is that this move will make it even more difficult to receive compensation.

Additionally, I read recently (I've temporarily lost the citation on this) that Tepco will not pay for losses in product sales because of "perceptions" of radiation contamination (of radiation "phobia" on the part of the population). I'll try and track down this citation later tonight when I have more time.

Update: NHK reporting today that Tepco has announced it will simplify the form. The public outrage worked, at least, it seems to have led to some improvements. Hopefully the Japanese people will start becoming more aggressive demanding assistance with evacuation, clean-up, compensation, etc.http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_41.html

1 comment:

shouldn't the conversation be:1) does tepco have the financial means to make things right for the people and businesses affected (directly and immediately) by fukushima?2) does tepco have the skills and resources to manage the crisis at fukushima (and at the other damaged plants)?

both are clearly no. tepco's value is zero, on their books i'm sure they still list fukushima daiichi as a multi-million dollar asset. their performance is criminal, not just inept, but, twenty to life maximum security criminal.

so, then the conversation has to be, who is best qualified to run this operation? then perhaps we'd get a real plan, or at least a sober assessment of the likely range of outcomes.

we have only to look at bp/feinberg's treatment of gulf coast residents like dean blanchard to see how this will play out unless tepco is removed from charge.

About Me

I am a Professor at a large public university. I study political economy and biopolitics (the politics of life). My interests are diverse but are broadly concerned with economic, social and environmental justice. I have published 5 books: Crisis Communication, Liberal Democracy and Ecological Sustainability: The Threat of Financial and Energy Complexes in the Twenty-First Century (2016); Fukusima and the Privatization of Risk (2013); Constructing Autism (2005); Governmentality, Biopower and Everyday Life (2008/2011); Governing Childhood (2010).
I also participated in an edited collection on Fukushima: Fukushima: Dispossession or Denuclearization (2014).